Edgecumbe

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Town in Bay of Plenty Region, New Zealand

title: "Edgecumbe" type: doc version: 1 created: 2026-02-28 author: "Wikipedia contributors" status: active scope: public tags: ["whakatāne-district", "populated-places-in-the-bay-of-plenty-region"] description: "Town in Bay of Plenty Region, New Zealand" topic_path: "general/whakatane-district" source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edgecumbe" license: "CC BY-SA 4.0" wikipedia_page_id: 0 wikipedia_revision_id: 0

::summary Town in Bay of Plenty Region, New Zealand ::

::data[format=table title="Infobox settlement"]

Field	Value
name	Edgecumbe
native_name_lang
settlement_type	Minor urban area
mapframe	yes
mapframe-zoom	9
coordinates
subdivision_type	Country
subdivision_name	New Zealand
subdivision_type1	Region
subdivision_name1	Bay of Plenty
subdivision_type2	Territorial authority
subdivision_name2	Whakatāne District
subdivision_type3	Ward
subdivision_name3	Rangitāiki General Ward
subdivision_type4	Community
subdivision_name4	Rangitāiki Community
leader_title	Territorial authority
leader_name	Whakatāne District Council
leader_title1	Regional council
leader_name1	Bay of Plenty Regional Council
leader_title2	Mayor of Whakatāne
leader_name2
leader_title3	East Coast MP
leader_name3
leader_title4	Waiariki MP
leader_name4
seat_type	Electorates
seat
area_footnotes
area_total_km2	2.01
population_as_of
population_footnotes
population_total
population_density_km2	auto
postal_code_type	Postcode(s)
postal_code	3120
website
::

Edgecumbe () is a town in the Bay of Plenty Region of the North Island of New Zealand, 15 km to the west of Whakatāne and 8 km south of the Bay's coast.

It is the main service town for the agricultural region surrounding the plains of the Rangitaiki River, which flows through the town.

State Highway 2 and the Tāneatua Branch railway line (disused) pass through the town.

The Edgecumbe Dairy Factory, established in 1915, employs 358 people, roughly a fifth of Edgecumbe's total population.

History

The town is named after the small village of Edgecumbe in Cornwall, United Kingdom, between Penryn and Helston. Edgecumbe was linked with Tauranga and Auckland by rail, with the opening of the East Coast Main Trunk Railway and Taneatua Express in 1928.

In 1987, a large earthquake centred on Edgecumbe shook the Bay of Plenty, causing widespread damage and causing much of the population to leave Edgecumbe.

In July 2004, May 2005 and April 2017, the town experienced heavy flooding that ruined many homes. In the 2005 flood, the river swelled to within 5 cm of breaching the flood banks that had been put in place seven years prior.

1987 Edgecumbe earthquake

Main article: 1987 Edgecumbe earthquake

::figure[src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/cf/Edgecumbe_Fonterra_Earthquake_Memorial.jpg" caption="1987 Earthquake memorial (on right)."] ::

The earthquake was a major turning point in the history of Edgecumbe. It measured 6.3 on the Richter magnitude scale and struck the Bay of Plenty region of New Zealand on 2 March 1987, just after 1.42 pm. The earthquake was very shallow, being centred approximately 8 km from the Earth's surface. The earthquake was one of the most damaging New Zealand's North Island has experienced in recent decades, with approximately 50% of the houses in Edgecumbe being damaged by the quake. There was extensive damage to a local milk factory, with large storage tanks toppled. Kawerau was another nearby town that suffered damage and Whakatāne was also badly shaken. An 80-tonne New Zealand Railways DC class locomotive was thrown onto its side.

The earthquake caused no fatalities.

However, one person died at the time as a result of a heart attack, possibly due to the quake. A foreshock just minutes before had cut the power supply and many people had moved away from heavy machinery and out of their houses. The largest aftershock was measured at 5.2 and struck at 1.52 pm.

A crack 7 km long opened in the Rangitaiki Plains near Edgecumbe, as a result of the earthquake. It is now known as the 'Edgecumbe Fault'. At one point, the land close to the fault dropped 2 m.

The epicentre of the quake was approximately 2.24 km south-south-east of the town of Matatā, or 15 km north-north-west of Edgecumbe. The intense ground-shaking caused by the earthquake led to a large number of ground surface failures, including sand boils, ridge-top shatters and debris avalanches on steeper slopes. Because of the earthquake, many people left and therefore Edgecumbe's population dropped considerably. Edgecumbe is slowly recovering as it has increased by 21 in the years 2006 to 2013, possibly due to many kiwifruit orchards being affected by PSA.

2017 Edgecumbe flood

In April 2017, remnants of Cyclone Debbie caused heavy rainfall in the region. At 8:30 am on April 6, water from the Rangitaiki River breached a stopbank next to Edgecumbe, causing widespread flooding across the township. A state of emergency was declared for the Whakatāne District, and around 2000 people were evacuated to Kawerau and Whakatāne. More than 300 homes were damaged, with some becoming uninhabitable.

There were no deaths due to the flood, yet, over 50 percent of people there were highly affected by it.

The largest animal rescue in New Zealand history was recorded during the aftermath of the flood. Approximately 1000 animals were rescued by an SPCA led operation, with support from local civil defence rescue teams and veterinarians from Massey University. The event highlighted a significant gap in animal welfare emergency management capability in New Zealand.

Demographics

Edgecumbe is described by Stats NZ as a small urban area, and covers 2.01 km2. It had an estimated population of as of with a population density of people per km2.

Edgecumbe had a population of 1,800 in the 2023 New Zealand census, an increase of 156 people (9.5%) since the 2018 census, and an increase of 162 people (9.9%) since the 2013 census. There were 906 males, 885 females, and 6 people of other genders in 618 dwellings. 2.5% of people identified as LGBTIQ+. The median age was 34.9 years (compared with 38.1 years nationally). There were 423 people (23.5%) aged under 15 years, 342 (19.0%) aged 15 to 29, 744 (41.3%) aged 30 to 64, and 294 (16.3%) aged 65 or older.

People could identify as more than one ethnicity. The results were 70.7% European (Pākehā), 46.0% Māori, 4.3% Pasifika, 3.7% Asian, and 1.7% other, which includes people giving their ethnicity as "New Zealander". English was spoken by 96.3%, Māori by 11.3%, Samoan by 0.2%, and other languages by 4.3%. No language could be spoken by 3.0% (e.g. too young to talk). New Zealand Sign Language was known by 0.3%. The percentage of people born overseas was 10.7, compared with 28.8% nationally.

Religious affiliations were 23.0% Christian, 0.3% Hindu, 0.2% Islam, 4.7% Māori religious beliefs, 0.5% Buddhist, 0.3% New Age, and 1.3% other religions. People who answered that they had no religion were 61.0%, and 8.8% of people did not answer the census question.

Of those at least 15 years old, 150 (10.9%) people had a bachelor's or higher degree, 828 (60.1%) had a post-high school certificate or diploma, and 402 (29.2%) people exclusively held high school qualifications. The median income was $37,300, compared with $41,500 nationally. 72 people (5.2%) earned over $100,000 compared to 12.1% nationally. The employment status of those at least 15 was 702 (51.0%) full-time, 177 (12.9%) part-time, and 69 (5.0%) unemployed.

Geography

Edgecumbe is located inland from the coast on the end of the fertile Rangitaiki Plains. The nearby beach is part of Maketu. The volcanic cone of Mount Edgecumbe, 15 kilometres to the south and close to the town of Kawerau, is visible from Edgecumbe.

Climate

|metric first=y |single line=y |collapsed = Y |location = Edgecumbe (1971–2000) | Jan high C = 23.9 | Feb high C = 24.1 | Mar high C = 22.4 | Apr high C = 20.2 | May high C = 17.5 | Jun high C = 14.9 | Jul high C = 14.6 | Aug high C = 15.3 | Sep high C = 16.9 | Oct high C = 18.6 | Nov high C = 20.3 | Dec high C = 22.1 | year high C = | Jan mean C = 18.9 | Feb mean C = 19.2 | Mar mean C = 17.5 | Apr mean C = 14.9 | May mean C = 12.2 | Jun mean C = 9.9 | Jul mean C = 9.4 | Aug mean C = 10.1 | Sep mean C = 11.7 | Oct mean C = 13.6 | Nov mean C = 15.4 | Dec mean C = 17.3 | year mean C = | Jan low C = 13.9 | Feb low C = 14.2 | Mar low C = 12.6 | Apr low C = 9.7 | May low C = 6.9 | Jun low C = 4.9 | Jul low C = 4.3 | Aug low C = 4.9 | Sep low C = 6.5 | Oct low C = 8.5 | Nov low C = 10.5 | Dec low C = 12.4 | year low C = |rain colour = green |Jan rain mm = 91.7 |Feb rain mm = 89.2 |Mar rain mm = 149.2 |Apr rain mm = 95.1 |May rain mm = 114.8 |Jun rain mm = 170.9 |Jul rain mm = 119.6 |Aug rain mm = 120.7 |Sep rain mm = 119.1 |Oct rain mm = 96.8 |Nov rain mm = 74.5 |Dec rain mm = 123.9 |year rain mm = |source 1 = NIWA{{cite web |url = https://data.niwa.co.nz/ |title = NIWA Datahub (Agent number: 1668) |publisher = NIWA |access-date = 20 Nov 2024}}

Clubs and organisations

The Association Football Club Plains Rangers AFC is based at the Edgecumbe Domain, along with rugby and hockey.

The Edgecumbe Volunteer Fire Brigade is located on SH2 and services the township and surrounding area.

The town has a local rugby club, and a Kart Sport track.

Education

Edgecumbe School is a state primary school for Year 1 to 8 students, with a roll of . It opened in a barn in 1914 and moved to a new building in 1916. Then called Riverslea School, it became Edgecumbe Primary School in 1925, and moved to its current site in 1926.

Rangitaiki College is a state high school for Year 9 to 13 students, with a roll of . It opened in 1962 as Edgecumbe College.

Both schools are co-educational. Rolls are as of

Notable people

Eve Rimmer, paraplegic athlete

References

"Pūtauaki - te Aka Māori Dictionary".
"Edgecumbe". Fonterra.
"Disaster Mitigation Projects". Whakatane District Council.
Noted. "Edgecumbe flood: What the river washed away".
McSaveney, Eileen. (1 December 2010). "Historic earthquakes – The 1987 Edgecumbe earthquake".
(July 2009). "1987 Edgecumbe earthquake". [[Earthquake Commission]].
"M 6.5, Edgecumbe, March 2, 1987". [[GeoNet (New Zealand).
"Earthquake: Edgecumbe". Christchurch City Libraries.
Franks, C.A.M.. (1988). "Engineering geological aspects of the Edgecumbe, New Zealand earthquake of 2 March 1987". Quarterly Journal of Engineering Geology.
(2017-04-06). "Edgecumbe evacuates as water swamps the town - National - NZ Herald News". Nzherald.co.nz.
(2017-04-06). "State of emergency declared". SunLive.
(2018-03-31). "Edgecumbe flood anniversary: A year of highs and lows". Nzherald.co.nz.
Glassey, Steve. (28 October 2017). "SPCA Rescue: Operation Edgecumbe 2017 After Action Report". Wellington SPCA.
"Stats NZ Geographic Data Service".
{{NZ census 2018. Edgecumbe (202200). edgecumbe. Edgecumbe
"Totals by topic for dwellings, (RC, TALB, UR, SA3, SA2, Ward, Health), 2013, 2018, and 2023 Censuses". Stats NZ – Tatauranga Aotearoa – Aotearoa Data Explorer.
"Totals by topic for individuals, (RC, TALB, UR, SA3, SA2, Ward, Health), 2013, 2018, and 2023 Censuses". Stats NZ – Tatauranga Aotearoa – Aotearoa Data Explorer.
"Gary Fowell Builders Plains Rangers A.F.C.".
"Home – Edgecumbe Fire Brigade". Freewebs.com.
"Club Contacts". Bay of Plenty Rugby.
"Kart Sport Eastern Bay of Plenty".
"Edgecumbe School Official School Website".
"Edgecumbe School Ministry of Education School Profile". [[Ministry of Education (New Zealand).
"Edgecumbe School Education Review Office Report". [[Education Review Office]].
"The First Edgecumbe Primary School". Living Heritage.
"Edgecumbe College Official School Website". Rangitaiki College.
"Rangitaiki College – Te Kura Tuarua o Rangitaiki Ministry of Education School Profile". [[Ministry of Education (New Zealand).
"Rangitaiki College – Te Kura Tuarua o Rangitaiki Education Review Office Report". [[Education Review Office]].
"History". Rangitaiki College.

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